MangaBlog

ICv2 has generated several days’ worth of fodder for the MangaNet by compiling a list of the Ten Most Powerful People in Manga. Here’s the list:

1. Kurt Hassler, Graphic Novel Buyer, Borders Group
2. Hidemi Fukuhara, Chief Executive Officer, Viz Media
3. Stuart Levy, Founder, CEO, Chief Creative Officer Tokyopop
4. Dallas Middaugh, Associate Publisher of Manga, Del Rey
5. Jim Killen, Graphic Novel Buyer, Barnes & Noble
6. Mike Richardson, CEO & Publisher, Dark Horse
7. Mike Kiley, Publisher, Tokyopop
8. Yumi Hoashi, EIC & VP of Magazine Division, Viz Media
9. Hikaru Sasahara, CEO, Digital Manga Publishing
10. Masashi Kishimoto, Creator of Naruto

So, it’s all publishers and book buyers, except for Kishimoto. No one from the anime world, although we’ve been reading about the boost that a Cartoon Network show can give a title; no one from the direct market; no one from Amazon or The Right Stuf. Also, no one from the blogosphere or the scanlation community. I know these areas are hard to quantify, but most people in the industry seem to acknowledge that scanlations help drive acquisitions. And I don’t see a lot of ads for manga; most people hear about it through blogs and news sites. Of course, blogs only have a certain audience. Kids seem to pick up on titles through word-of-mouth; perhaps the most powerful people in the manga industry are really eighth-graders, and we just don’t know it. Or librarians, who were early adopters of manga and often set up manga and anime clubs to keep kids interested.

Lists like this are just made to be criticized, of course, and David Welsh and Simon Jones both have some comments to make. Incidentally, last July, the Love Manga crowd took a stab at creating this list and I want to note that David Welsh correctly chose Hassler, Killen, Kiley, and Middaugh, and David Taylor named Hassler, Killen, Kiley, Middaugh, and Akins.

ICv2 also listed the top ten manga properties:

1. Naruto
2. Fruits Basket
3. Kingdom Hearts
4. Full Metal Alchemist
5. Loveless
6. Death Note
7. Bleach
8. Tsubasa
9. Absolute Boyfriend
10. Negima

To which my reaction is: Loveless? Absolute Boyfriend? Huh? Neither of these titles has made the USA Today Booklist. People don’t clog the internet talking about them; if web chatter is the metric, then Nana and Hot Gimmick would definitely be on the list. ICv2 says these are the “best selling properties” but it’s hard to know how they calculate that. Chain stores and direct market? Single-volume sales or sales for an entire series? Or maybe ICv2 knows something I don’t. (Probably.) Apparently all is revealed in their Retailers’ Guide to Anime and Manga, which I’m obviously going to have to track down, not only to learn their reasoning on both these lists but also for the article on shoujo anime.

Lots of news today!

Tuesday brings a fresh edition of PW Comics Week, and this week they look at the “Cartoon Network effect,” which has been noted here: manga sales take off when the anime is broadcast on Cartoon Network. The effect applies to non-manga titles as well, but it’s less pronounced; sales of volume 1 of Bleach went up 40% when the anime started running on Cartoon Network. With Fantastic Four, the effect is spread across more books so is likely to be less noticeable. I thought this was interesting:

The sweet spot for Viz’s action properties is boys ages six–12, which meshes perfectly with the demographics of the Cartoon Network and the Kids’ WB animation block.

True, but what are the girls doing? Playing with their Barbies? My daughters watched CN too, when they were that age, and I’d love to see some shoujo anime on TV. The article also notes that anime of Basilisk and Gunslinger Girl will be running on the Independent Film Network starting this winter.

PWCW also takes a look at manga and manwha publisher Infinity Studios.

Jay Chung, Infinity president and CEO, says initially the company planned to publish shonen manga, “stuff for the younger generation of kids.” But he soon found that “in the American market, people are not very picky about genre. They like good titles, good artwork. It doesn’t work to our advantage to stick to one genre but to publish what’s popular.”

Interestingly, Chung goes on to say that it’s harder to work with Japanese publishers because they want to get a feel for a company and know it’s history; it would seem that focusing on a specific genre would help there. Anyway, Chung started licensing manwha because the Koreans are more willing to work with a new publisher, but is transitioning to manga because it sells better in the American market.

Ian Brill wonders why used bookstores won’t take manga; a commenter suggests it’s because he’s on the wrong coast. (Via Comics Worth Reading.)

Stephanie Folse has a new column up at Tokyopop. This one is about mangaka Minekura Kazuya, and it’s worth reading just for lines like “Minekura has developed a distinct style, with bishounen built like toast racks on heroin.”

MangaCast checks out today’s comics with lots of juicy commentary. The Carl Horn worship is reaching cultlike status over there. Jog is having a big manga week as well.

More fanservice please, we’re British: Unlike its U.S. sister company Del Rey, the British publisher Tanoshimi will be putting the uncensored cover on volume 2 of Air Gear, which shows a young woman in leggings and a thong, seen from below. Del Rey will run the original cover inside the book. At Love Manga, David Taylor has the full story, complete with picture of said cover.

If I’m reading this vaguely worded press release correctly, Viz will be selling Bleach paraphernalia in an “exclusive” arrangement with Borders, Waldenbooks, and Hot Topic.

Dark Horse has a preview of Ghost in the Shell 1.5: Human Error Processor #1. I must say that armor looks rather impractical.

Jarred Pine reviews Ode to Kirihito and gives it a rare A+. I just got my copy yesterday, and it looks absolutely beautiful. I’m thinking this will be the Christmas gift of choice in the mangaworld.

Some changes seem to be afoot at Tokyopop, but it’s hard to see what they are just yet. In her excellent site roundup, ChunHyang72 reveals that Tokyopop has gathered links to all the editors’ and creators’ blogs on a single page. I couldn’t see a link to it on the home page, but then, that’s why I read ChunHyang’s blog.

Meanwhile, at Comics212.net (note new url), Christopher Butcher reveals Tokyopop’s newest pitch to retailers: If your customers like indy comics, they’ll like ours! The comparisons fall short in a few places, but I can see where it’s a good idea. It’s probably aimed more at retailers who are reluctant to stock manga in the first place than those who, like Butcher, keep a large selection on hand.

And I’m still trying to figure this out: If you go to TokyoSpace and click on a manga preview, you get, not a manga preview, but a mysterious message about VIP membership coming soon. Whassup with that? The message mentions being able to access all the manga previews in the archive, which seems like a possible step toward the online delivery that we’ve all been talking about. But only if they turn it on.

In other manga news, MangaCast’s Ed Chavez is getting ready for Yaoi-Con, which kicks off Friday in MC’s hometown of San Francisco. He has an ambitious schedule planned and it looks like he will be recording many of the panels. Stay tuned!

ICv2 has analysis of the September sales numbers.

For those who like their manga raw, Dirk Deppey has consolidated his guide to scanlations into one convenient post.

At Tokyopop, ChunHyang72 is offering to look at your fanfiction/art/blog if you can explain why it’s worth a look—and if you’ll read one of her posts in return.

Love Manga has the rundown on manga in stores this week. Having trouble deciding?MangaCast links to previews of Train_Man, Ohikkoshi, and Afterschool Nightmare, Recipe for Gertrude, and the novel A Strong and Sudden Thaw. And remember, if you subscribe to the MangaCast feed, you can get these previews directly downloaded to your podcast catcher.

David Welsh devotes his Flipped column this week to three manga that feature kids: Yoki Koto Kiku, Reborn, and After School Nightmare, the latest entry from Go!Comi.

Tangognat gives Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service four stars. At Comics-and-more, Dave devotes Manga Monday to volume 2 of Drifting Classroom and the new Shojo Beat title Punch! MangaCast reviews Close the Last Door, Densha Otoko, and volume 2 of The Great Catsby.

Comic Book Resources has the direct market sales charts for September. Scroll down to the bottom for the top 50 manga, or just look right here for the top ten (rankings on the top 100 GN chart are in parentheses):

1. Berserk, vol. 13 (Dark Horse/Digital) (17)
2. Negima, vol. 11 (Del Rey) (25)
3. Bleach, vol. 15 (Viz) (28)
4. Fullmetal Alchemist, vol. 9 (Viz) (32)
5. Vampire Hunter D, vol. 5, Stuff of Dreams (Dark Horse)
6. Satsuma Gishiden, vol. 1 (Dark Horse) (44)
7. Little Butterfly, vol. 2 (Digital/June) (47)
8. Hybrid Child (Digital/June) (50)
9. Close the Last Door, vol. 1 (Digital/June) (54)
10. Crying Freeman, vol. 3 (Dark Horse) (56)

(For some reason, Vampire Hunter D is not listed on the graphic novels chart.)

Given that number 11 is Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, which I still can’t find in my local bookstores, it was a pretty good month for Dark Horse. On the other hand, there are three yaoi titles in the top ten. So we have the manly adventures and the tales of romance. I wonder if the same, very well rounded, people are buying both types of titles, or whether it’s two different groups entirely.

On the other hand, it wasn’t a good month for manga versus graphic novels, as the highest ranked manga on the GN list was at number 17, and the ninth-ranked manga was below number 50.

To get us in the mood for Halloween, ChunHyang72 will be posting about scary manga every week. First up: vampire manga.

DramaQueen has announced two new titles, Aijin Ichimanyen, by Dr. Ten, and 8 MM, by You Na.

This is kind of cool: ComiPress translates a story about a new online comics store in Japan that sells complete sets of old series. I’d love a service like that in English, especially if the prices were low. Also on ComiPress: nominations are now being accepted for the Tezuka awards.

Reviews: Air Gear and Old Boy wash up on the shores of Manga Island; Manganews has new reviews up of W Juliet and Hissing; the somewhere-in-Pennsylvania Patriot-News looks at Abandon the Old in Tokyo, and at MangaCast, Christian does a text review of Emma.

Free manga for today: DrMaster has a preview up of the backstory of Chinese Hero.